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Last month, as those of you on this plane of existance know, Pinderpanda gave up talking about Grant Morrison on the boards cold turkey for a month. I found this really interesting.

I talked with him over PM about it a few times, and he posed the question to me 'What would you give up for a month?' And this, really, was a pretty valid question. I have my obsessions, some public and some private. I wondered what I could give up, and what benefits it would have for me.

After some consideration, I decided that I would give up DC Comics for a month. As you may know, all of my accounts are DC. 90% of the comics I read in a given time span are DC. I have DC Barbie dolls in my room, DC dvds on my shelves, and a startling collection of Supergirl-themed T-shirts.

Now, the questions here are, why give up DC Comics for a month, and what are the benefits? I've decided to give them up for my mental health. I look at all of the King Chrono ____ talking ____ threads and all I do is feel dread or anger over how the writers at DC are treating 'my' characters. I feel like I'm not giving any good input right now other then "******** DC, they killed off Wally and made Supergirl a b***h." I feel like sometimes I'm just feeding this monster inside of me that stresses over the lives of ficticious characters whose adventures I have no real influence over.

I've decided to give them up to free me for other literary pursuits. I have a book that Remy sent me for Christmas I haven't barely been able to plow into for over a month. I have a book by Joe R. Lansdale I read back in high school I want to reread about a world taken over by space aliens who watched LOTS AND LOTS of B- movies. And I want to broaden my horizons comic-wise. I want to read the comics that Jaeger Ayers and Jackie Estacado star in.

What are the benefits? Like I said, mental health. Being obsessed to the point of blurring between fantasy and reality isn't healthy, and I've seen it happen to many people. Online makes it easy. A step away can be refreshing and mind-clearing. There's also the monetary benefit of not feeling tempted/obligated to drop $20-30 a week on DC back issue trades to see if I like the 'flavor.' And it gives me more to discuss with people on the boards if I can open myself to giving something other then Brand X a try.

So, after deciding to give it up for a month, I had to set some parameters for myself. I'm not going to abandon my DC Screennames for a month. But I am going to abscond from DC debate/discussion for February. I won't buy DC Comics or DC toys. I will (sheepisly) watch Justice League Unlimited...If only because, in that venue there technically IS no alternative other then tuning into Spider-Man reruns on ABC Family network.

So, if I seem distant on the boards, there is your explanation. And now, I pose the question to you....



What would you give up for a month?

I knew a guy who gave up showering for a month, but . . . well. That wasn't pleasant. And we won't go any further.

You could watch RahXephon and Supergirl, and listen to a bunch of mp3s... ninja

Were it not for the fact that so much of my livelihood is based around the Internet, I'd love to give it up for a month. I spend too much time sitting here on the computer every day, either playing WoW or other games.

Sadly, my professors send out assignments via e-mail and I have one class where we have to turn everything in through a website. Perhaps this summer, though...

I never understood that either, but I do understand the impulse to purge things from our lives that are destructive or just plain dead weight. Like the politics forum here, it's just a big can of unpleasantness that I just don't need.

Ahh, what the hell. I'll give up verbally bitchslapping people for Lent.

When Lent actually rolls around ninja

I think you guys are missing the point of the excersize sweatdrop ...but that's okay. I know what I'm doing is good for me and by the end of the month I think my head will feel clearer.

Well, that is a big part of it. It's also to help myself from becoming DEFINED by one habit to everyone I know. I find it interesting that I can refer to everyone on the board by a habit or obsession-and everyone else will know who I'm referring to. You'd be "That Morrison Guy," etc etc. It's part of why I always try to refer to people by their real names when I mention them in conversation, because I don't want them to be pigeonholed in my mind.

I will say that the experience has been interesting so far. I have a paranoid delusion of, after I walk out of the comic book store, the clerks turning to each other and saying "WTF? No Superman TPB this week? Our bottom line! NOOOOO~"

Though I'm reasonably sure in my logical mind that's not happening.

The biggest test has been, can I keep from 'cheating' on myself. Last two weeks have had a LOT of good DC on the shelves, and thusly far I have not opened or browsed through a single DC issue.

This week I bought the Franklin Richards comic, a Spider-Man Marvel Romance comic (Beyond sweet), and some issues of something called "Polly and the Pirates" that appealed to me visually, though I haven't read yet. Last week I got an indy/solo book written by Kenny Baker. So in that effect, it's been a success, checking out things I wouldn't otherwise buy if my whole shopping list was DC.